Professor Valaria Mondragon
Personal Life & Hogwarts Years Valaria’s parents died unexpectedly in a flying accident and because she was so young (age 12), the Ministry of Magic decided to let two muggles, Irene and Martin Judson, adopt Valaria to ensure that her home life remain as stable as possible. The Judson’s have been wonderful parents to Valaria and they remain close to this day. Valaria attended Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin. She was a skilled flier & played chaser for Slytherin house's Quidditch team. She developed a fondness for the arts and began to slowly nurture her abilities through pranks, illusions, and by talking with the paintings of past witches & wizards throughout the halls of the castle. Her pranks earned her a reputation for being a good student, but a trouble maker. Often, her professors were found gossiping about the latest "Mondragon Mishap," in their classes. ''' The Battle of Hogwarts happened during Valaria's time at the school, and she was ready on the front lines to fight, even managing to take down & capture a death eater, with the help of fellow students and Professor Cuthbert Binns. '''The battle caused Valaria to experience deep emotions that she had long repressed, and influenced her artomancy for years to come. Valaria completed her Hogwarts education with high marks, though not perfect. She traveled to London upon graduation to attend a muggle art college. Note-Worthy Abilities & Skills Professor Mondragon is widely known as one of the world‘s greatest artomancers, an expert in magic having to do with colors and illusions, both two dimensional and three dimensional. She is one of the few living witches who has perfected the spells needed to ‘paint‘ in 3D space using their wand. She is famous worldwide for her ‘color concerts’. So adept are her spells with artomancy that she can use light and color to manipulate the emotions of others. Love, loneliness, despair, determination; all are under the command of her swirling colors as she weaves them with all the skill of a artist creating an intricate tapestry. The crowd is often left in tears, not by her manipulation of their sorrow but because such beauty comes from her ‘wordless stories’ that all but the most hollow and pitiful of souls are moved to passion. Only one thing has been said by all who witness her in the fullness of her art: “It was the most beautiful thing I ever felt.” '''From lighthearted fables to mournful tragedies, passionate romances and legendary heroics, her color concerts span a wide variety of emotions, styles, and tastes. These concerts are '''emotionally draining and she can only perform them occasionally. Despite this limit she could easily make a fortune as a performer because the price of witnessing such majesty is beyond measure. There hasn’t been a Wizard or witch in centuries that has been able to perform at her level of artomancy, and she fears the skill will be lost with her. As she teaches she is searching for a prodigy, someone to take on her legacy, so the beauty of her art does not fade once again from memory. Despite being a skilled duelist and a member of the dueling club, fighting takes an emotional toll on Professor Mondragon. This is not to say she will not fight, she will defend herself and her students, even if she has to kill to do it, but her compassionate personality deeply regrets the loss of life. She will remember battles years later, and the deaths on both sides haunt her. Many may see her compassion as a weakness, but it is what drives her to improve her already impressive skills in artomancy, so that she can one day use those skills in illusion to protect the defenseless. Valaria loves flying and is quite good at it as well, having ability that rivals even Professors Wiggin and Storm. Valaria is creative, spontaneous, and enjoys a good prank, especially when the victim is Professor Kendros. Her pranks & jokes are magnified by her expertise in wandless magic and artomancy. 'Professional Career' Professor Mondragon returned to Hogwarts in her adulthood, at the behest of the headmaster, to further develop the art programs at the school. She saw potential in the practical & emotional benefits of artomancy and desired to teach her students about the lesser-known form of magic. While teaching at Hogwarts, Professor Mondragon discovered a new magical painting method that allowed her to see possible future events, so she dedicates all of her extra time into further developing this method & protect those she cares for from future pain if she can. The study and development of this ability have taken a lot out of her, and she has begun working with Professor Winthrop, a fellow Slytherin and expert in divination, to develop this ability to perfection. The development of this ability has taken a toll on Mondragon physically & mentally. But she works diligently to hide it, and keep up appearances. She began using a glamor of butterflies around her head occasionally, to distract those around her from her deteriorating physical appearance. ''' Professor Mondragon shares a close, sibling-like friendship with Professor Kendros, as they were school rivals and frenemies in their younger years. They are said to be the equivalent of Yin & Yang/twins, with Valaria being slightly chaotic, and Alexander being a little more reliable & consistent. That dynamic has allowed the two to become an unstoppable dueling team. Professor Mondragon also shares a close friendship with Professor Winters, a fellow Slytherin and friend of Professor Kendros. They bonded over a shared love of animals & magical sports. This friendship allowed Mondragon to develop a deep level of trust with Winters, and she divulged her future-sight abilities to Winters. Professor Mondragon & Professor Winters share hurt feelings over Kendros leaving Hogwarts, even if it was for their own protection. Kendros left a note for Valaria afterwards, apologizing for his abrupt and unexplained departure, but Valaria isn't sure she can forgive him quite so easily, even with impending danger on the horizon. '''Bonds & Relationships Professor Kendros - Close friends/frenemies since early Hogwarts years. They are dueling partners, and share a sibling-like friendship. Professor Winters - Bonded during teaching at Hogwarts over their shared love of animals, magical sports, and their mutual friend, Kendros. #WinterDragon Moira McCann - Occasionally Valaria and Moira have been known to close down the Three Broomsticks during trips to Hogsmeade. Their "girls nights," are legendary among the staff of Hogwarts. Professor Winthrop - Valaria and Gwen began a friendship during teaching years at Hogwarts, sharing a mutual affinity for divination, though Gwen has mixed feelings about the magic itself. They began working together to develop Valaria's future-sight magic, and often share laughs in their offices together. Category:Characters Category:Slytherin Professors